2010 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Syrah Pyramid Block Sentinel Oak Vineyard, USA, California, Wine Review

This is a winery that really doesn't get the publicity it deserves. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, some black pepper, a hint of roasted meats and herbs. Neither war climate not cool climate in style. On the palate, black raspberries layered with char and slight earthiness. Good acidity. Lots of tasty fruit with light tannins at this point. It takes an hour or two to really open and then is drinking beautifully. Nice finish. Good with food.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Vintage:

2010

America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we discussed the white Rhone style wines offered at the 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco on March 18. This month we turn to the reds, of which we tasted 50. Among those we tasted were some old favorites and some wineries or bottlings with which we were not yet familiar. We don’t pretend that we tasted a representative group of wines, because our sample was skewed to wines we have loved in the past and others about which we have heard positive comments.

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2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008 was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective. Unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. The American wines were mostly from California (144 wineries), but a few examples from Arizona (2 wineries) and Washington State (5 wineries) were also included. While this is a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers aren’t represented, there is still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts. The events included two general tastings and a series of focused seminars.

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Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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Heidi Peterson Barrett: Napa's Wine Diva on Winemaking, La Sirena, and the Legacy of Screaming Eagle

Heidi Peterson Barrett As arguably the most celebrated, respected, envied, and in-demand winemaker in America today, Heidi Peterson Barrett is one of only a handful of winemakers who can legitimately lay claim to "superstar" status. Her wines at both Dalle Valle and Screaming Eagle resulted in multiple 100 point scores from Robert Parker (Parker himself dubbed her the "First Lady of Wine") and helped redefine both the meaning and value of "cult" wines. She rocked the wine world at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction as a 6-liter bottle of her 1992 Screaming Eagle sold for $500,000, in the process setting a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine (a vertical offering went for $650,000 at the 2001 Napa Valley Wine Auction). Heidi Peterson Barrett is currently winemaker for Amuse Bouche, Paradigm, Revana, Barbour, Lamborn, Fantesca, as well as her own label La Sirena . I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Heidi to talk about winemaking, her own La Sirena label, and the legacy of Screaming Eagle.

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2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block, USA, California, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Wine Review

Vintage:

2010

Score:

Grade:

This is in a great spot right now. Still youthful but drinking well. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, roasted herbs and slight roasted meats. Full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, black raspberry fruit with underlying char. Also some black pepper. Deep. Long finish. This is near peak but should go another eight to twelve years. Very nice on its own, this would also work well at the dinner table with slow cooked meats or veggies.

2010 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Syrah Pyramid Block Sentinel Oak Vineyard, USA, California, Wine Review

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America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016

Heidi Peterson Barrett: Napa's Wine Diva on Winemaking, La Sirena, and the Legacy of Screaming Eagle

2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block, USA, California, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Wine Review